Perspectives... achieving a healthy work/life balance
In this fast moving society where we are always striving to get more, have more, and do more; it can sometimes be hard to know where the line should be between work time and family time. That line is in a different place for every person and you will need to find your own balance. Similarly, the same dilemma can be applied to working from home.
I admit that sometimes I get so caught up in establishing my online business that it mildly infiltrates family life. I haven't yet successfully drawn that line; although I have become better at it. I'm sure many entrepreneurs have had the same challenge while trying to become successful.
Admitting to ourselves that the possibility exists can really help to find a healthy balance. I have found that if I set goals for the day's work instead of simply sitting down at the computer; two positive things happen:
I not only accomplish the goals I set out, but even more work gets done, and
I have a keener awareness of other things in my life; like family and friends.
So I implemented a plan which has worked well:
I began setting the timer for 2 hours blocks of work time followed by 30 minutes of down time.
During that down time I can dust the furniture, pull out the vacuum, or just sip a cup of tea while calling back a friend who has patiently waited.
At 8 pm the office is closed, excepting the Friday evening training webinars which have proved very helpful. The work will still be there the next day without question.
This arrangement seems to address the risk of data overload and wards of the dreaded burnout.
As each of us works so hard to launch our online businesses, its so easy to lose sight of those other important aspects of our lives and of ourselves. We can become one-dimensional and less interesting; the opposite outcome to our plan.
This tool seems to be working for me at the moment and it may work for you. It may be worth giving a try. Good luck with all your endeavors.
Marion Noon
Recent Comments
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Thanks Marion, Ido find myself getting up and going straight to the computer for hours at a time. I will try and make my self take a break to avoid the burn out syndrome. But there's so much to learn!
I agree that there's a lot to learn. However, I have studied both in class on campus, and on-line through distance learning. The breaks are essential and actually improve retention of information. Good luck to you. Thanks for commenting.
Great post Marion, I've struggled off and on over the past 9 years with keeping the balance. I find a schedule that works for a while but then start slipping back into bad habits. I'll give your suggest a try this time around.
Thanks Marion. I had definitely began to burn myself out online and like Aphrodite I have online schoolwork as well along with other online work so haven't been getting to WA as much as I'd like as well ..a few days ago I decided I'd better go back to my to do lists n prioritize each task and like you mentioned when you stick to that more things get accomplished. It is all a work in progress for me and I have to learn my balance as well. Thanks for a great post!!
Jentay, You have a lot on your plate so I appreciate the time you took to leave a comment. Good luck to you.
Thanks so much for this Marion. You are so right, and two points you made really made sense to me. First, by setting goals I achieve more. Somehow the dishes get done faster when I have something exciting to do after. I am struggling with getting my own school work and corrections for my children done because I have to be online a lot for school anyway. When statistics stops making sense I sneek over to WA to see what's going on and get distracted. The worst part is I am not doing any lessons here, because I haven't set the time aside to do them. I am supposed to be doing something else, so I am not even being productive when I'm here outside of scheduled times. I will have to learn to log out and stay logged out. Your second great point is that a lot of what we are bringing to the table is who we are. If we neglect our lives and who we are, what are we actually bringing? I really appreciate the time you took to write this. Thank you. Signing out, for real this time.
I hope you can remain in the moment with your children tonight. When you get this reply tomorrow, I hope you have a new plan that will work for you. As the saying goes, "it all looks different on a good night's sleep." Thank you for leaving a comment.
Time is important for everybody, so have to divide right portion for each thing have to do, in order to success have to work very heard
so can be achieve.
3seasongift, you are so right. Thanks for adding your comment. It may assist someone else. That's what we do here at WA is help one another. When I blog, I think in advance about what would help others. It inspires me to share more freely. It forces me to step out of myself and into another's shoes, just for a moment. Good luck to you.
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HI with 3 childen to send to school, a part-time job, and household chores that will never leave me, I need to have a very disciplined time management.
Jen090,I hope this gives you an idea that will help you manage your time. Thanks for leaving a comment.